Study Skills
The main rule for revision is that you should plan to revise in small chunks over a long period of time. You should aim to revise for 25 minutes and then take a five minute break. Do this three times. That is 90 minutes altogether. That makes up one Revision Cycle.
Key Stage 3 Pupils:
During the regular school year, you should aim to complete one Revision Cycle twice per week. It is good to have set revision days each week when you do not have other activities planned.
Within one month of your school tests, you should aim to complete one Revision Cycle four times per week.
Key Stage 4 Pupils:
During the regular school year, you should aim to complete one Revision Cycle three per week. It is good to have set revision days each week when you do not have other activities planned.
Within one month of your school tests and external examinations, you should aim to complete one Revision Cycle five times per week.
Key Stage 5 Students:
During the regular school year, you should aim to complete one Revision Cycle four times per week. It is good to have set revision days each week when you do not have other activities planned.
Within one month of your school tests and external examinations, you should aim to complete one Revision Cycle six times per week.
Planning your Revision:
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Make sure that you have a Study Folder with Lined Paper and Dividers. If you would prefer to use a Study Book then your Form Teacher can provide you with one.
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Write down the dates of your tests when your teacher tells you them. These should be recorded in your Homework Diary. You should also keep a copy of a Exam Timetable at home so that your parents/guardians know when your tests are. An example Exam Timetable is below.
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Organise yourself using a Revision Timetable. An example Revision Timetable is shown below.
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Make sure that you have a Revision List for each test and that you keep them in your Study Folder or Study Book. Your teachers can provide you with a Revision List.
Blank Exam Timetable
Blank Revision Timetable
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You should start revising with the subjects that you like the most. This will help make revision more interesting.
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You should plan to spend the most time revising on the subjects that you find the most difficult.
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Make sure to ask your Teachers, Family Members and Friends for suggestions on how to revise and if they are able to help you with your revision. Asking Family members to check your revision using the answers or to quiz you can be a really effective revision technique.
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It is really important that you continue to look after your brain and your body when you are revising for tests. Make sure to get plenty of sleep, to keep exercising and to eat healthy food. These will help to manage your stress.
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You should revise in a quiet space. If you don't have space to revise in your house, stay in school for Homework Club on your revision days.
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Do not use your mobile phone when you are revising. You might think they are useful, but really they are a distraction.
The Key Revision Method: Change, Learn, Challenge, Treat
This is the process to follow every 30 minutes during your revision time.
1. Change - Read the information that you need to learn and rewrite it in a different way. Do not just highlight or copy it out. You should change it into a bullet point list or spider diagram or into one of the knowledge organisers. All of the different types of knowledge organisers can be found at the bottom of the page.
2. Learn your new and condensed notes. Make a quiz with answers based on the notes, or record yourself and listen back to your new notes. Maybe try to make a mind map. You can use your notes for this step.
3. Challenge yourself to see how much you know. Try to complete your quiz without using your notes. Maybe ask somebody else to quiz you, but make sure that they have a copy of the answers! If you have a family member who will listen, try to teach them as much about the topic in five minutes as you can. It is fine to make a mistake at this stage, as long as you find the correct answer.
4. Treat yourself during the last five minutes of the session. Go outside for a few minutes and take a walk. Maybe look at your phone (as long as you can put it away after five minutes).
This process should take around 30 minutes in total. You should try to do this three times in each revision cycle.
Every subject has it's own best method for studying. In Maths for example you will want to answer lots of questions correctly, whereas in Science you should create your own Super Summaries. Your class teacher will help explain the best way to study in their subject.
Conclusion
All experience shows that the pupils who achieve the best in their tests and exams are those who are most prepared. You should plan to get into the habit of revising every week, not just the week you have tests. After a while you will find that you actually enjoy revising and that your test scores are improving. Your test scores might not improve the very first time that you start to revise, but they will improve the more times you attempt it. Like all good things, hard work is needed to revise well.
Example Knowledge Organisers
You can find some example Knowledge Organisers here:
There are many different types, but you should pick your two or three favourites. If you don't like any of these you can find more when you search online for 'Knowledge Organisers.' Your Teachers can show you how to best use each type of organiser.